The Russian Federation is expected to announce economic sanctions against Washington. According to Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Moscow could suspend space shuttle co-operation and stop delivering rocket engines.

To get astronauts to and from the International Space Station, NASA currently relies on the Russian Federal Space Agency and its Soyuz rockets and spacecraft.

U.S. military satellites are launched by Atlas-5 rockets provided by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a company jointly owned by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. These rockets use Russian engines.